As Rockets forward Chandler Parsons continues to improve in his third season in the NBA, he has been turning heads and making impressions.

One who has taken notice is Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. After the Spurs’ shootaround at Toyota Center on Tuesday morning, Popovich sang Parsons’ praises.

“He has gotten better every year,” Popovich said. “He has gotten more confident. He really knows what he can do best, and he does it consistently. He is a heck of a competitor. He loves to play the game.

“You look at him, and you know he is having fun. And he just competes his fanny off.”

In the two games the Spurs and Rockets played headed into Tuesday night’s contest, Parsons was key in the Rockets’ two wins. He had 25 points and five assists on Nov. 30 and 21 points, six assists and six rebounds on Christmas.

“So he has gotten better and better, and we have seen that progression in him. And this year, he is one of the better players in the league,” Popovich said.

In Tuesday’s win, Parsons was limited to six points and six rebounds.

Injuries a part of life in NBA

Both the Rockets and Spurs had their injury problems in Tuesday’s game.

The Spurs were missing Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green.

“You would always like to have your best guys playing, of course,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But everybody has injuries, and you can’t moan and groan about it. You get whoever is available and go play.”

The Rockets were without James Harden, Omer Asik, Greg Smith and Francisco Garcia.

“Our league is not deep enough,” he said. “That is for every team. I don’t care who you are. Whether you are Miami or Philadelphia. You can’t afford to have any of your top guys not playing for long periods of time, because the league is just not deep enough.

“There are nights I watch the games, and some poor coach has three or four injuries, and it’s like, ‘Wow, he is playing those guys. Man, that’s tough.’ That’s just the way it is. They are like us. If a few of your top guys aren’t playing, they aren’t as good.”